Elevated railway



(No Model.) 7, H- W. KIRCHNER.

ELEVATED RAILWA No. 485,700. I Patented Nov. 8,1892.

v 1 a Mbwsses I 0612/01? M JQW QZ L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. KIROHNER, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

ELEVATED RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.485,700, dated November8, 1892.

Application filed May 4:, 1391. Serial No. 391,5 11. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY W. KIROHNER, a c tizen of the United States,residing in the city of Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Meansfor'lransportation, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to means for transportation in which the roadway iselevated above the ground and in which the weight of the cars andoccupants is wholly or partially supported in transit by being attachedto a weight-compensating device and the roadway intended more as a guidethan a support. More particularly my invention relates to lmprovementsin the devices for which United States Letters Patent No. 441,67 2 weregranted to myself and George N. Chase on December 2, 1S90. It consistsin an improved form of device for supporting the weight of the car,850., and in an improved form of device for automatically keeping thesupporting parallel cables normally stretched at an equal tension.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference denotelike parts in the several figures, Figure l is a side elevation of myimproved car and roadway. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on theline 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3 3in Fig. 1; and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a front and a sideelevation of the supporting-posts for the roadway, showmg in enlargeddetail the device for stretching the cables.

A is the body of the car, practically similar in details of constructionto that shown and described in the patent already referred to.

B and. O are respectively the upper and lower supporting and guidingroadway-cables, which are secured to and supported by the posts D, whichare connected and braced together on either side of the roadway by thespanners E and struts F. (See Figs. 2 and 3.)

G and H are respectively the upper and lower supporting and guidingpulleys, which on the same side of the car A are adj ustably securedtogether by the connecting-bars I, as described in the patent referredto. To the ournal-shaft K of one of the upper sets of wheels is securedthe operative part of some motor L for giving motion to the car A.

To the body of the carA is secured the superstructure M, made of somelight strong material, preferably aluminum, from which the air can bewithdrawn, forming a vacuumchamber.

N is one of the several spiral braces placed within the chamber M atconvenient intervals in the length of the same for reinforcing the wallsof the vacuum-chamber M against outside pressure.

0 (see Figs. 4 and 5) is my improved cablesupporting bracket-piece,whichis secured to the posts D atintervals in the line of the roadway whereit is found desirable to place stretching devices. The bracket-pieces Oare formed with a band portion P, formed to embrace the posts D,conforming to the outline thereof and to be secured thereto. Theoverhanging or projecting portion R is formed with two curved holes S ofa size to correspond with the cables B and O, which lead from oppositedirections in a line parallel to the line of the roadway-cables,converging toward each other until they meet in a line at right anglesto the line of cables. The intermediate space between the'holes isoccupied by the material of the bracket, forming a bridge across fromone portion of the cable to the other when it is looped through thebracket, as shown in Fig. 4.

My. improved stretching device, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5,consists in two fiat bars T,one end of which is formed or bent at rightangles (see Fig. 5) and a perforation formed in the outer end thereof toaccommodate the other bar when they are secured together, as shown inFig. 5, forming a loop or double stirrup, into which is fitted thecompression-spring U. To the extending ends of the bars T are securedthe hooks V, adapted to be hooked into the loop of the cable whenthreaded through the bracket-block, as shown in Fig. 4. Into the loopare fitted the thimbles W for preventing the kinking of the cable andthe wearing of the same by the hooks V. The tendency of the spring U isto expand, carrying with it the overlapped ends of the bars T, bringingtogether the hooks V, and thereby stretching the cables B and O tocompensate for the varying lengths of the cables due to changes intemperature.

In practice it is intended to exhaust the air from the vacuum-chamber Mand have it take the place of the gas-receiver, as described in theaforementioned patent, to support the car A.

- I claim- In an elevated railway, a roadway consisting of an upper anda lower cable on each side of said roadway, said cables being supportedin upper and lower brackets secured to supporting-posts, said bracketsbeing formed at intervals in said roadway with two oppossitely-extending holes, through which the cable is threaded, forming aloop which engages with hooks secured to either end of a stretchingdevice, whereby the cables in said lVit-nesses:

Jos. A. Gnovns, J os. H. FLOWER.

